Here you can share your experiences with substances that are ingested, inhaled, or otherwise consumed for the purpose of relieving RLS/WED, other than prescription medications. For example, herbal remedies, nutritional supplements, diet, kratom, and marijuana (for now) should be discussed here. Tell others of successes, failures, side effects, and any known research on these substances. [Posts on these subjects created prior to 2009 are in the Physical Treatments forum.]

Important: Posts and information in this section are based on personal experiences and recommendations; they should not be considered a substitute for the advice of a healthcare provider.

I have my MM certificate in California - but I received it the day before I went back to Illinois to pack and make my move final. I didn't have any time to go to a dispensary and get anything started.

I will likely need to experiment to see what works well for me. One of my purchases, then, will likely need to be a vaporizer.

Does anyone have any suggestions? They range from very inexpensive (and likely ineffective at actually vaporizing instead of burning) to the price of a used car...ok, a bit of hyperbole, but they can get very pricey.

Well you're lucky, in California there are lots of pre-made medical marijuana vaporizer cartridges that fit the common vape pen used for nicotine products. I took the recommendations of a friend who has done several types of vaping, and bought a cheapo vape pen at a smoke shop, not the marijuana dispensaries where the prices are much higher.

There are special vaporizers designed to vaporize leaf marijuana, they are quite pricey, I would stay away from them. The California dispensaries have lots of different pre-made Vape cartridges with all different kinds of strains used to make the cartridges, so unless you want some exotic combination, you don't have to go to the hassle of buying leaf marijuana and using it in a special leaf vaporizer.

The prescribing doctor said that the cheaper vape pens did not vape so much as burn. Vaping that burns, as he explained it, was dangerous to the lungs. I left the research in California - but I seem to recall that there was a considerable difference in the damage to the lungs. Then again, I didn't actually read it because it happened just before I left and I didn't have time to review it.

My thought at the time was to try and find the least expensive vaping pen that actually vaporized instead of burning. But, not sure how to achieve that.

I'm not sure you understand that there are two entirely different types of vaping. What you are referring to is vaporizing the chemicals that are in the marijuana leaf, you put marijuana leaf into the vaporizer.

The more common type of vaping which I am referring to involves buying a small cartridge that has 1/2 teaspoon or so of marijuana oil in the cartridge. You screw the cartridge onto the vaporizer which is actually just a battery press the button and inhale. That's all there is to it. Much more convenient and much easier on the lungs than the marijuana leaf vaporizing units. The marijuana oil is concentrated, and usually you get a hundred or two hundred puffs out of each cartridge.

I don't know how to upload a photo to show you. I paid $20 for the vaping battery and charging unit.

Ann, I'm up in Washington state and have been able to research and to experiment with both flower vaporizers and oil cartridges. From what I understand, there are several different extraction techniques for oil and many leave behind chemicals that I don't want to inhale. Some leave pure oil, but they are more expensive and hard to find. Also, oil cartridges give you a limited selection of strains, and I have found strain selection to be very important in my use of cannabis.

By using a flower vaporizer, I can sample small amounts of new strains. The more expensive vaporizers let you control the burning temperature and I've found that, at the lowest setting, I get the medicinal benefits without any harshness or burning. I suspect that vapor from the whole flower contains more whole-plant medicine than the extracted oil.

I confess I have an expensive one, the Pax 2 ($200 at paxvapor.com). I tried a less expensive one and it was too harsh for me...and I want something reliable enough that I can trust it will be there for me. I hope that helps!

I am guessing this is the research the doc gave me. It makes sense - he wanted me to stick with the cleanest way to use it. He mentioned the Pax 2 - and it seemed a bit spendy, lol! But, reliable makes sense.

But, I was thinking I might try a less expensive one to start in case it doesn't help me.

ViewsAskew wrote:I am guessing this is the research the doc gave me. It makes sense - he wanted me to stick with the cleanest way to use it. He mentioned the Pax 2 - and it seemed a bit spendy, lol! But, reliable makes sense.

But, I was thinking I might try a less expensive one to start in case it doesn't help me.

Ann,

May I ask which vaporizer did you buy? Was that the right/final choice?

I have an Atmos Boss pen vape which I got at a local pharmacy for $100. I'm thinking I'll spend a little more and maybe get one that's not as harsh.

May I ask which vaporizer you ended up with? Was it the right/final? choice? I have an Atmos Boss pen vape, $100 at the local pharmacy. I don't know if it's cheap or not. I'm looking to spend a little more and get one that might be less harsh.

I didn't choose! I needed to leave CA in November to come back to IL to finalize selling the house, packing, etc , so did something similar to what you did - bought a pen they suggested at the pharmacy. I think I paid about $50. I bought a a cartridge for it and it really helps me fall to sleep when the opioids have me wide awake. But, I learned, puff very slowly and softly. You will get a hit but it won't hurt or burn. you don't have to puff hard. That said, there is no way to know if it is 400 degrees, 800 degrees or 1200 or whatever. They also gave me a joint - golly it was huge - because I was a first time customer. I still have half of it. I puff very lightly on it, too. Not sure which works better - both knock me out. Usually I only need it once because once I get an hour or so of sleep, the wired feeling is over and I am out for 8 hours at least. So, for me, it works well.

I move for good back to CA in...well, sometime, lol. I wanted to be there by the end of March...but we are still here. Hubby kept saying July. I am shooting for May. The condo looks like new and the only things it needs are appliances which are delivered this weekend and the blinds to be hung. They are ordered (we tried to have someone clean the Hunter Douglass we had in there and it didn't work). We are trying to sell it ourselves - hubby's idea - so that should be fun, lol!

Once I get back, I will explore it in earnest again. Love to hear if you - or anyone else - buys something and likes it.

Thanks for those tips on the vaporizer Ann! I've decided, at least for now, to only use a vape. I'm not sure I want the harshness and lung irritation from the cig or the pipe. When I'm done with the Requip withdrawal I'll experiment more with my Atmos before I step up to anything more expensive. I'm looking to weed to quiet the legs/arms as well as help with sleep.

I did some research on vaping oil after trying it on my trip to LA. I was alarmed by the cutting agents they were using such as lighter fluid and pesticides. Granted it was years ago, but even now a number of manufacturers use chemicals such as Propylene glycol which is similar to ethelyne glycol, the main ingredient in anti-freeze. Imo vaping bud is safer.